Mirrored Pyramid of Business Plan Development: A New Reflection on the Process

The Insanity of Advertising

Fred Goldberg’s new book is an insightful and valuable resource for anyone in the marketing business. It started me thinking about the elements of cohesion between two aligned but very different businesses—advertising and public relations.

Soulful Branding

Jerome builds breakaway brands from the inside out. He doesn’t hesitate to upend conventional wisdom but always does so with a concrete, actionable strategy that transcends traditional marketing in unexpected and “soulful” ways.

What Matters In Public Relations?

How Well The Work Works For Clients

Articulating the broad-based philosophy and passion of the founders of a truly revered product requires a skill set that is much more strategic and complex than a traditional marketing campaign. Steve Smith and his team were selected to craft and implement just such a program for Cakebread Cellars which would persuasively convey the family’s commitment to community, education and the joy of wine and food. The quality and demand for their premium wine was the foundation for communicating the Cakebread’s ideals and values to a high end audience through a flow of ‘backend’ stories by top-tier media and through proprietary events. This included the American Harvest Workshop, which brings together leading chefs and journalists and Cakebread U, which provides a three-day educational program for students from leading universities about the world of wine. The agency focused on the most powerful non-wine press continuing to build on brand cache and the vision of the founders. There aren’t many agencies that get it but Smith PR does.

Cathleen Burke Visscher, Founder, Wine Works & Co., President, The Wine & Food Society, NY, Former senior vice president and director of corporate development at Kobrand Corp., a leading high end wine and spirits company with interests in California, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and more

We brought Steve onboard to help us define our position in the marketplace and provide a marketing strategy to take us to the next level. He performed a comprehensive audit of our senior staff, board members and other key parties to provide a positioning for our business model, searched for a branding agency overseeing all elements of the RFP, and conducted an advertising agency resource review with equal skill and professionalism. He handled these challenging tasks with enthusiasm and efficiency that made our senior staff’s time effective throughout this process.

Following the completion of the branding and advertising searches, Steve supervised a number of other marketing programs including a public relations outreach which resulted in highly positive exposure in USA Today, CNNRadio, ABC television, CBS Marketwatch and many more placements for our new brand. He has become an important part of our team and I would recommend him without reservation as a professional who is a quick study, able to drive a marketing campaign to successful goals and is focused on providing tangible ROI for his clients.

Gary Brahm, Chancellor & CEO, Brandman University, part of the Chapman University System, Former EVP & COO, Chapman University

Steve Smith has proven to me time and time again, that he has a unique ability in generating the required publicity to get product and company exposure by creating programs that garner high interest in the intended target mind sets.

I was fortunate to work along with Steve on a number of companies and believe had it not been for his efforts they would have been far less successful than they were. Just two of many examples were Worlds of Wonder (Teddy Ruxpin; Lazer Tag) and Cakebread Cellars.

Somehow, Steve and his group were able to identify clever and creative solutions and programs, which garnered massive visibility. Such was the case for Worlds of Wonder. With Cakebread, he was able to help them sustain the high end quality image which they enjoyed despite their burgeoning level of case sales that is generally the bane of the larger wineries.

Beyond his talent and skill as a PR and publicity person, Steve is a smart, dedicated, hard working, creative executive. And, a joy to deal with if you are one of his clients. Just ask them.